'TELL IT LIKE IT IS': Democrats' Midterm Sweep Sparks Debate Over Gerrymandering and Political Accountability

Talk show host James W. Thomas examines Democrats' victories in Congress, the failure of Republican redistricting strategies and the need for election reform in his Nov. 9 political commentary.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. | The sweeping Democratic victories in the 2026 midterm elections and the growing controversy surrounding partisan gerrymandering took center stage in the Nov. 9 edition of 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS', hosted by veteran broadcaster and political commentator James W. Thomas.

The program's two-part discussion examined the political consequences of the Nov. 3 elections and the arguments presented in Thomas' editorial, "Stop the Cheating," which challenges political leaders to confront partisan manipulation of congressional districts and restore public confidence in representative government.

Under the program's signature tagline, "Be Informed — Not Influenced," Thomas framed the election results as an opportunity to examine not only which party won but also what those victories reveal about the electorate's changing priorities.

Democrats Flip Texas Attorney General’s Office, Reshaping Legal Battles Over Trump Policies and 2028 Elections

Historic 2026 midterm gains give Democratic attorneys general greater influence over voting rights, artificial intelligence, energy policy and corporate regulation as Republicans lose a powerful legal stronghold.

WASHINGTON | Democrats emerged from the 2026 midterm elections with a major victory extending beyond congressional and gubernatorial races: a sweeping expansion of their influence over state attorneys general offices, including a breakthrough in Texas that could reshape national litigation over federal policy, voting rights, energy regulation and emerging technologies.

The Democratic Attorneys General Association, which invested heavily in recruiting candidates and building statewide campaigns, helped its party capture five Republican-held attorney general offices in Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and Georgia while defending competitive seats in Michigan and Minnesota.

But the most consequential victory may have come in Texas, where Democrats broke Republicans' hold on an office that had become a central force in conservative legal challenges to Democratic administrations.

Talarico Ad Omits Details of Crystal Mason’s Illegal Voting Case

The Texas Democrat's campaign ad blames Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for Crystal Mason's five-year sentence, but local prosecutors brought the case years before her conviction was overturned. The dispute highlights broader concerns about voter fraud enforcement and racial disparities in Texas.

One of the closing ads from Democrat James Talarico in the Texas Senate race says that Crystal Mason received a five-year prison sentence for illegal voting “because of Ken Paxton’s crackdown on voters of color.” But there’s more to the story.

Although her vote ultimately did not count, Mason, a Black Texas resident, was convicted and sentenced by a state judge in March 2018 for illegally casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 general election. At the time, she was on supervised release following a felony conviction for tax fraud in 2011. That made her ineligible to vote under state law.

Her conviction and sentence came after Paxton, Talarico’s opponent and the state’s Republican attorney general, announced a voter fraud initiative in early 2018 involving “enforcement and education.”

However, the case against Mason, who was charged in February 2017, was investigated and prosecuted by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office — not Paxton’s office, as the ad may suggest to viewers. The judge didn’t provide an explanation for the five-year sentence.

The penalty for illegally voting in Texas, a second-degree felony, was up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Attempting to vote illegally, a different charge, is a state jail felony, punishable by up to two years in state jail.